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England captain wants more fight from his side after crushing defeat in Brisbane leaves Ashes hopes hanging by thread

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-20250:50

Stokes: ‘If we lose hope, we might as well not turn up’

Ben Stokes admitted that England had not been “able to stand up to the pressure” applied on them by Australia after his side went 2-0 down in the series in Brisbane. He said England had to show more fight but reiterated his belief that he could lead them back from the brink, with a 3-2 result now their only route to regaining the Ashes.England’s captain pinpointed dropped catches on the second night as one of the tourists’ key failings, undermining their rally with the pink ball under lights. Having been 290 for 3, Australia fell to 329 for 6 – still behind England’s first-innings 334 – but capitalised on a host of reprieves to eventually stretch their total beyond 500 on the third day.Stokes added that he did not believe there was a skills deficit with Australia but conceded England’s mentality in tough situations had twice been found wanting after two chastening defeats. For the second Ashes in a row, England find themselves 2-0 down after two games and, although they came back to draw in 2023, that would not be enough to reclaim the urn from Australia. Only once in Ashes history has a side won 3-2 after being 2-0 down, and that was Don Bradman’s Australia in 1936-37.Related

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“Very disappointing,” Stokes said at the post-match presentation. “A lot of it comes down to not being able to stand up to the pressure of this game, this format, when the game is on the line. In small passages, we’ve been able to bring the game back into some kind of control and then we’ve let us slip away. We’ve done that again here this week, and it’s very, very disappointing, in particular, because of the ability of the players that we have in that dressing room.”We need to think a bit harder and deeper about those moments and what we’re taking mentally into those, and overall show a bit more fight when it’s needed.”We sit there and watch what’s going on in front of us, what Australia are looking to throw at us, and what plans they’re trying to bowl to,” he added. “And then it’s up to us as players to be able to go out there with a plan and how to negate the threat.”To me, it just seems to be a constant theme at the moment, that when you know the game is in a pressure moment, Australia keep outdoing us. They say Australia isn’t a place for weak men. We’re definitely not weak, but we need to find something, because we’re two-nil down now we’ve got three more games to go, and we need to, sort it.”Speaking to TNT Sport after the game, he said that errors in the field had hurt England the most. England put down five chances on day two – Jamie Smith off Travis Head, Ben Duckett off Alex Carey and Josh Inglis, Brydon Carse off Michael Neser and Joe Root off Carey – as Australia carved out a match-defining lead of 177.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“A huge part of it was that we had to take 15 wickets,” Stokes said. “You can’t drop catches. They always come back to bite you. And I think it definitely showed there. If we were able to hold on to our chances, we shouldn’t have been batting last night [day three]. No one means to do that kind of stuff. No one means to drop catches. No one means to not bowl an area where you set plans to but, yeah, those kind of things just can’t happen at this level.”On the gap between the sides, he said: “It’s a mentality. It’s a mindset about how you take yourself out there in those situations. You know, Test cricket has its own pressures anyway, and how you handle those moments, how you handle yourself in those moments, how you get yourself into a clear head, a clear space to make good decisions. That’s so important to being successful at this level.”England had posted their highest score in Australia since 2018 after opting to bat first in the day-night Test, buoyed by Joe Root’s maiden hundred on Australian soil. But after Head’s reprieve on 3, Australia’s openers raced off to a 77-run opening stand, with Jake Weatherald’s punchy 72 from 78 setting the tone – and Stokes took some of the blame for a wayward bowling effort, as he and Brydon Carse in particular leaked runs.”Not being able to execute skill is something that you can live with, because no one means to bowl away from the plan that we’re trying to do. We knew exactly how we needed to bowl on that wicket, and we weren’t able to do it for a long enough period to put the Australian batters under pressure. And that was evident in the way that Australia were able to score so quickly and so easily against us.”I think Jofra and Gus set the tone very nicely, actually, when we first took ball, but then myself and Brydon sort of let the game get away from us quite quickly. So, yeah, just not being able to execute what’s needed, not only with batting and also with the ball. We’ll be having some conversations that I’ll be keeping in the dressing room.”Asked about lessons from previous tours – England have lost 5-0, 4-0 and 4-0 in their last three Ashes series down under – Stokes said that he wanted to maintain belief within the dressing room.”Don’t panic, don’t flap, don’t waver, and just have complete and utter belief in our guys as a team. Because I know we can do this. I believe emphatically in the group, I believe empathy, myself, as a captain, as a leader, that I can get the guys into a place where they need to be to able to win these next three games.”

Earlier, Pant, batting with a fractured right foot, scored a half-century and helped India cross 350

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-20250:52

Manjrekar: India batted in different bowling conditions from England

Tea England backed up their captain Ben Stokes taking a five-for with an unbroken opening partnership of 77. Those runs came at over five an over, taking a big bite out of India’s 358 all out on the second day in Manchester.It was a disappointing bowling performance from the visitors, particularly in helpful conditions and to follow a display of great bravery from Rishabh Pant who came out to bat on a fractured foot and scored a half-century.England weren’t particularly keen to score so quickly. Zak Crawley needed 13 balls to get off the mark and those runs came with a reminder of the danger the pitch still posed as a Jasprit Bumrah delivery rose up sharply to rap him on the bottom hand. Crawley displayed excellent judgment outside his off stump and ironically only started to look vulnerable once he had runs against his name, the confidence of seeing off the new ball coaxing him to play away from his body and could have been bowled off the inside edge.Ben Duckett didn’t need to be so careful, at any point in his innings. India fed him on his pads and he tucked in with glee. All his seven boundaries came on the leg side and he stands on the cusp of completing a half-century at almost a run a ball. Duckett welcomed Anshul Kamboj with three fours in his first over of Test cricket, the debutant chosen to open the bowling ahead of Mohammed Siraj.India must pick themselves back up again because they showed great heart in getting to an above-par total. Pant put his body on the line – literally because Stokes targeted that broken front foot of his – and had enough in him to hit a 90th six in Test cricket, putting him level with Virender Sehwag for the national record. He also went past Alec Stewart for most runs by a wicketkeeper in a Test series in England. The mere fact that he was able to walk – let alone bat – moved the fans at Old Trafford who gave him a rousing ovation.Stokes found similar approval from the crowd when his tireless and relentless display was rewarded with a first five-for in eight years. He was a threat when he bowled full because he was getting both ways movement – Shardul Thakur found that out when he was caught at gully for 41 – and he was a threat when he went short – which did Washington Sundar in. Stokes has 16 wickets in the series now, a career-best for him going past the 15 he took in the 2013-14 Ashes when he made his debut.

UK government gives green light for resumption of professional sport as West Indies finalise plans

ESPNcricinfo staff30-May-2020CWI has approved West Indies’ scheduled tour of England in principle following a meeting via teleconference on Thursday. The Test series, part of the World Test Championship, was originally slated to start on June 4 but was pushed back because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The boards are now looking at an early July start, with the West Indies team arriving in June and isolating prior to the series, which, if it goes ahead, will be played behind closed doors.The board’s formal approval came days after CWI chief executive Johnny Grave told ESPNcricinfo that he was “increasingly confident” that the tour would take place. A CWI statement said the decision was made after detailed discussions between its medical representatives and those of the ECB, including plans around logistics and creating a bio-secure environment during the tour.With the UK government on Saturday* releasing stage three guidance for the resumption of elite sport, which permits the return of competition from June 1, the tour now awaits approvals from the various national governments in the Caribbean region for player and staff movement via chartered planes. Players and staff would be screened regularly through the tour as part of comprehensive ECB “bio-security” planning.The decision follows weeks of discussions between the two boards, including a phase where CWI wasn’t as confident as they have been this past week, given the marked difference in Covid-19 cases between the two regions. But the ECB’s safety plans have changed the CWI’s mind.The proposed schedule for West Indies’ tour of England•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“What has changed is the ECB have got more confident that they’ve got a robust and safe plan to deal with cricket in a biosecure environment behind closed doors,” Grave had said during the interview. “Our medical team are getting more confident and comfortable with those plans. Our players and support staff who we have met with [on conference calls] are beginning to understand what a seven-week tour behind closed doors might look like.”Subject to a negative Covid-19 test result, the squad is expected to be chartered to Antigua from various parts of the Caribbean, following which they will fly together to the UK. Upon getting there, the team will spend three weeks in their quarantine and training facility.The CWI statement said that the board “is now in the process of seeking to put all of the approvals and logistics in place within the Caribbean, including seeking permission from the various National Governments to facilitate the movement of players and support staff, using private charter planes and conducting medical screenings and individual COVID-19 testing for all members of the touring party”.”If someone tests positive at any stage in the tour they would be removed from the main squad and will be placed into isolation within the biosecure environment and will be treated by the team doctor along with the other on-site medical support staff,” Grave said. “Should any player have more serious symptoms, they will be treated in hospital at pre-arranged facilities.”It is also expected that player replacement during a match, along the lines of a concussion substitute, will be mulled by the ICC cricket committee when it meets in June.*1900 BST – This story was updated following the UK government announcement

Pakistan’s focus now on the Tests, says the pacer, with the series being a key one for his side in the new World Test Championship cycle

Danyal Rasool04-Aug-2021An early 1-0 lead that’s consolidated by not much happening for the rest of the contest sounds like something out of Jose Mourinho’s playbook, but if ever a cricketing equivalent were to have such a result, you’d put good money on Misbah-ul-Haq being the mastermind. There weren’t too many tactics involved in that scoreline, though, with uncooperative weather ensuring a T20I in Guyana was all the cricket that could be played, and once Pakistan edged West Indies in it, there was little West Indies could do to prevent a Pakistan series win.But while the weather might be the enduring narrative from what should have been a five-match series (even before the weather played foul, Covid-19 cut into the schedule), Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali insisted a series win at the home of the defending T20 world champions meant a lot to his side. “Winning away to a side with such firepower that they can hurt you anytime is great. A win is a win and we’re very happy with the series victory in the West Indies,” he said. “We’re all disappointed because we wanted to play. Even when it was raining we were all raring to go. But the weather is not in our control. Of course, the disappointment is we couldn’t prepare properly away to a champion side.”We had to learn some lessons from the England series, and we’re working on our bowling in the middle and the death. I really like our bowling unit right now, and also my personal form. As a bowling unit, we trust each other and our coaches trust us too. Of course, we have to improve, but we have a month or two to hone our skills ahead of the T20 World Cup.”There’s another assignment, though, before the focus shifts completely to the shortest format. A two-match Test series against West Indies starting next week, to kick off the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for both sides. Unlike the last cycle, which somewhat passed Pakistan by, the fixtures and scheduling have fallen in a way that represents a real chance for Babar Azam’s side to claim a spot in the final come 2023. The upcoming two-match series presents arguably Pakistan’s most challenging away fixtures in this cycle, with the other away series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.That, of course, makes performing in this Test series that much more important, and Ali said the series was his side’s primary focus for the moment.”We’re looking forward to the Tests; we have a few days to get used to the red ball. I’ll try to capitalise on my form and the rhythm I’ve got going for now,” Ali said. “Our team is very balanced. We have plenty of spinners with Yasir [Shah] coming back, and in dry conditions like these that’s very useful.”Then we also have [pace options in] Shaheen [Afridi], Naseem [Shah], [Mohammad] Abbas and myself. We’ve won the last two Test series [against West Indies] and we’re looking to continue that and get the WTC off in victorious fashion.”Facing up to the usual, mandatory question on Pakistan being drawn in the same group as India in the T20 World Cup group, Ali was clear that it was not something the team was dwelling on. “We’re not looking forward to the India match right now at all, to be honest with you,” he said. “That’s still very far away. My focus is just on these two Tests right now.”

Bumrah named vice-captain as most of the regulars who missed the Sri Lanka tour in July return

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-20211:18

Chetan Sharma: ‘KL Rahul has proved his leadership qualities’

Rohit Sharma has failed to recover from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the Test series in South Africa. In his absence, KL Rahul will lead India in the three-match ODI series in South Africa. Jasprit Bumrah has been named the vice-captain of the squad.This was supposed to be India’s first ODI assignment since Rohit was named full-time captain for the format, but Rohit’s recurring hamstring injury has emerged as a bit of a concern. Chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma said the decision to not send Rohit to South Africa was taken keeping that frequent injury and important events in mind, including the T20 World Cup and the ODI World Cup in the coming two years.”This is the only reason why we have decided to let him work on his rehab, work on his fitness, work on his muscles,” Chetan said. “Nobody gets injured on purpose. This is precisely why we didn’t send him to South Africa because we want him to go back to 100% fitness because there are important events and World Cups coming. That is the reason why he is not going to South Africa, and KL Rahul is the captain.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

India’s 18-man squad welcomed back R Ashwin, who last played an ODI in 2017 but made his comeback into the T20I side earlier in 2021. Venkatesh Iyer received a maiden ODI call-up. As with T20Is, Venkatesh might bat in the middle order and bowl a few overs, a vacancy created by Hardik Pandya’s inability to bowl because of fitness issues.The other allrounder in the squad is Washington Sundar, who missed the T20 World Cup with injury but proved his fitness in the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy. Also coming back from injury was Shreyas Iyer, who has since made a successful Test debut too. The other potential allrounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, are yet to recover from injuries sustained during the Test series against New Zealand.That Rahul would lead in Rohit’s absence was expected, seeing that he is the ODI vice-captain, but Chetan said that Rahul was being groomed as a future leader. “We are looking at KL Rahul as a three-format player, and he has got good experience of captaincy,” he said in an online press interaction. “He has proved his leadership qualities. That is what all selectors think. When Rohit is not fit, we thought KL is the best one to handle the side. We have good confidence in him, and we are grooming him.”From India’s last full-strength ODI squad that played England in March, the selectors omitted Kuldeep Yadav, the Pandya brothers Hardik and Krunal, T Natarajan (injured) and Shubman Gill. Deepak Chahar and Ishan Kishan found their way in.KL Rahul has been handed the reins of the ODI squad•Getty Images

Between the England series and this one, India played an ODI series in Sri Lanka too, but it was a second-string side because the main squad was in England to play the World Test Championship final and the Test series against England. Shikhar Dhawan captained that side in Sri Lanka and retained his place, but Prithvi Shaw didn’t. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was part of that squad but didn’t get to play, was retained for the South Africa series.”He’s getting the chance at the right time,” Chetan said of Gaikwad. “He was picked in the T20s and now he’s in ODI squad. Wherever this is space for him, he’s getting picked and selectors are hoping he will do wonders for the country. We have selected him, now it’s up to the management when he plays in the XI and when he’s required in the combinations. He’s doing well and he’s been rewarded for that.”On some of the major names missing, Chetan said, “Mohammed Shami, we are resting him looking at the load management of our faster bowlers. He will definitely be playing the coming series. Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, both are not fit, that’s the reason they are not in South Africa.”Also discussed in the selection meeting, Chetan said, were Ravi Bishnoi, Rishi Dhawan, Shahrukh Khan, Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan: “These guys will definitely get their chances in coming times.”ODI squad: KL Rahul (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj

Former England captain does what he’s been doing for two decades to counter Matthew Montgomery’s 177

Paul Edwards20-May-2023
Nottingham on the third Saturday morning in May. Green buses – 4, 6 and 9 – proud and prompt to the minute, rumble over the Trent Bridge, where the inn has been trading for hours. There is a quiet busyness about the streets, an air of incipience.So it seemed on this leisured day when the East Midlands began to take leave of spring. Canyoned clouds drifted against a silver-blue sky and the shorts worn on the middle terrace at the Radcliffe Road End suggested more than a mulish determination to spite the climate.Red shirts flecked the white-painted stands inside the cricket ground. We were near the very last hurrah of the football season – and therefore five minutes away from the very first hurrah of the next. Some folk were taking in a few hours’ cricket before going to the City Ground, where mighty Arsenal were the visitors. In the streets around Colwick Road the fast food joints were setting up for a lively afternoon and evening. Fat and fat profits.Related

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And amid this activity, this skelter to capture the moment, a tall, slim figure would also soon be going about his business, which was that of scoring runs and saving a game either for Essex or England. It is what Alastair Cook has been doing for two decades now and it still brings him satisfaction.His batting today was certainly not without fault; he was put down twice in the slips before he’d reached 30, though neither chance was easy, and he sometimes seemed in a tangle when Liam Patterson-White bowled into the footholes. But he is 87 not out and if the job of saving the game has not yet been done with ease, the loss of Nick Browne, leg before to Lyndon James, is the only damage suffered.And in a way, Cook’s achievement in the second innings was the more admirable because he was less fluent today than when he made 72 on Thursday. Only 12 of his first 37 runs came in boundaries and two of those cover-driven fours off Dane Paterson sandwiched a fiery chance to second slip where Calvin Harrison, both hands above his head, could not cling on. Otherwise, there were the jabs down that gave Cook singles to backward point and the little deflections to the on side that gave him a few more. His fifth four, a drive through cover-point, brought him to his 122nd first-class fifty, although only his third at Trent Bridge. The achievement drew applause but the stroke was played against the growing tumult on the Radcliffe Road, where another crowd grew and steamed and prepared for manic partisanship.Even though he knows to celebrate, Alastair Cook does not do manic. Excitable is a rarely allowed indulgence. He takes the tiny defeats that come along in most long innings and is thankful one of them has not sent him back to the pavilion. In company with his captain, Tom Westley, with whom he had put on an unbroken 137 by close of play, he wore Nottinghamshire’s bowlers down on the third evening of this game and thereby exposed the inadequacy of his own side’s 298 in the first innings.Steven Mullaney’s fields became funky and merely hopeful: two short-midwickets, one short-cover and no slip to Westley, who ended the day with a pleasant unbeaten 70 of his own. Stuart Broad and Ben Hutton, whom one might have thought two of their side’s biggest threats, bowled eight overs apiece. It will take a lot for either side to win this game tomorrow and there is no need for a contrived finish. There is though, the probability that Cook will make a century on this ground for the first time in his career. It will be another tick on a career record that is littered with them.Matthew Montgomery made his first hundred of the season•Getty Images

And maybe we had an inkling how things might go during a morning of brief appearances and carefree strokeplay, a curious counterpoint to all that Cook represents. None of the last six in Nottinghamshire’s order batted longer than Patterson-White, who stodged around for 51 minutes before a crabbed poke, neither Catholic nor Protestant, edged a catch to Simon Harmer at slip off Jamie Porter. By contrast, Jamie Harrison hit seven varied boundaries in his 36-ball 31 and everyone else showed willing, especially Stuart Broad, who wiped Harmer towards West Bridgford for a six and a four before Matt Critchley picked up the last of his three cheap wickets.At the other end, Matthew Montgomery batted with all the confidence of a chap who looks up at the scoreboard before play starts and sees three figures against his name. Montgomery stroked six more boundaries today before falling leg before when attempting to reverse-sweep a full-length ball from Critchley. He was one short of his career-best 178 but one doubts he’ll need counselling.

The batsman, banned for nine months after the ball-tampering scandal, has revealed he pondered life without cricket as he served his suspension

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2018Cameron Bancroft has written about learning to accept that he will be known as a cheat following his role in the ball-tampering scandal and has opened up about his nine-month ban which finishes at the end of December.Bancroft, who was caught on camera putting sandpaper down his trousers at Newlands, could return to professional cricket the day after his suspension ends if he lines up for Perth Scorchers against Hobart Hurricanes on December 30. He has already been around the squad at the start of the BBL and also caught up with members of the Australia team when they were in Perth for the recent Test against India.In a long first-person letter published in the on Saturday, Bancroft relives the emotional strain the events of Cape Town had on him and the challenge of learning to enjoy cricket again which has taken him through practicing yoga – which he pondered as a new career path – and working with a charity that supports children with cancer as part of his community service.”Many people will judge you as a cheat, but that is OK,” Bancroft writes. “Always love and respect everyone. You will love those people because you forgive them. Just like you’re going to forgive yourself…You know you cannot say sorry enough, but actually it is time you allow your cricket to be about what you have learnt and use this opportunity to make a great impact.”ALSO READ: Steven Smith opens up on Newlands ‘leadership failure’
Bancroft reveals that it was being omitted from Western Australia’s pre-season trip to Brisbane when his situation really hit home, having been asked by new coach Adam Voges to justify why he should be included, and he pondered the possibility of not playing cricket but his return to grade level with Willetton District Cricket Club rekindled his passion for the sport.”On your way to present your case to your coach you realise this is the moment when you begin to become OK with the thought of never having cricket as part of your life again.Cameron Bancroft lobs the ball to a teammate in a club-cricket match•Getty Images

“Until you are able to acknowledge that you are Cameron Bancroft, the person who plays cricket as a profession, and not Cameron Bancroft the cricketer, you will not be able to move forward. This will become a defining moment for you.”New friends will be made, great people with similar interests. Maybe cricket isn’t for you, you’ll ask yourself… will you return? Yoga will be such a fulfilling experience. It’s hard to feel this reality could exist.”You meet people fighting battles greater than you can understand, but through your own hardship and journey you can inspire others in the form of yoga. This will be tough to understand now, but have faith and embrace uncertainty.”The first game will give you the answer about what the game of cricket means to you. It is simply just fun. You wear a blue cap, it won’t be a Baggy Green, but the enjoyment is the same. You love the game. That’s the heart of all passion. Cricket is still well and truly a part of who you are.”Bancroft will be the first of the banned trio to resume their professional careers in Australia. The year-long sanctions handed down to Steven Smith and David Warner finish at the end of the March with a chance they could make an international comeback very soon after that against Pakistan. Unlike Bancroft, Smith and Warner have been active around the world during their bans with various T20 deals as well as playing grade cricket.On Friday, Smith spoke in Australia for the first time since returning from South Africa as he revealed how he ignore the plans to ball-tamper that were being openly discussed in the Newlands dressing room.

Australia coach reckons that the performances of Usman Khawaja and Tim Paine have entered the same career-changing territory he shared with Adam Gilchrist against Pakistan in 1999

Daniel Brettig in Dubai12-Oct-2018Australia’s salvation in the desert was still more than two hours away when coach Justin Langer felt the team had earned respect for fighting so hard. By the end of a memorable day in Dubai, Langer reckoned that the performance of Usman Khawaja – which has bumped him up into the top ten of the Test rankings for the first time – Tim Paine and their undermanned collective had entered the same career-changing territory he once shared with Adam Gilchrist.Hobart 1999, and a successful chase of 369 after being 5 for 126 against Pakistan, has always been a key part of the Langer story, and he revealed that he had invoked that performance when talking with the team before day five began. “I actually talked about that Test match this morning to the boys before the game,” Langer said afterwards. “And I remember that Test match because it was against Pakistan obviously and there was personal involvement but what was important for some individuals in that game but more importantly it was for the team.”We felt if we could win from there we could win from anywhere. For us to draw from where we’ve been throughout this game that’s going to be a huge confidence booster to help us build this team. And back then when we won 16 straight Test matches. Now I’m not saying this team is going to do that obviously but what I am saying is it was a huge confidence booster back then and I’ve got no doubt for this young team and a very young captain that’s a booster for them and never underestimate how victories like that, even though it was a draw, what a significant event that can be for building a team.”I’m so proud of the boys. I actually said at tea time, regardless what happens in the last two hours I was so proud of the way the boys fought. We said we’re really going to really fight hard and try and make Australians proud of us again. And I think it was an amazing finish for us to get the draw but just the way the boys fought it out was brilliant. I thought besides that mad couple of hours where we lost 10-60 I thought the boys fought and worked so hard throughout the game, it was a really great performance.”Langer spoke with enormous pride at the way Khawaja had performed, shedding seven kilos since the South Africa tour and committing fully to the new coach’s regime, before putting on a masterclass in batting against the spinning and reverse-swinging ball across two innings, the second now behind only Michael Atherton’s Wanderers epic in 1995 among the longest fourth innings ever played.”I’ve got so much admiration for Uzzie. Look at him. He’s got himself really, really fit to bat in these conditions and to do what he’s done is a great credit to him but then to also overcome the demons, people have talked about whether he can play spin bowling,” Langer said.”I had never had a single doubt that Usman Khawaja could play spin bowling. And it’s great to see him getting the benefits of the Australian A tour and then the work he’s put into it to get rewarded for all the work he’s put in is massive for him. No doubt, he’s done some great things in Test cricket but when you have an innings like he’s just had then and a game actually – not just that innings – but the first innings was brilliant as well.”You never underestimate again how that can take you to even a further level in your career. I’ve got huge, always have had, as a player but huge admiration for what he’s done over the last six months. He’s done well, he’s made runs in county cricket, runs in Australia A cricket now he’s just had two brilliant innings in Test cricket. He’s doing exactly what we are asking of all batsmen in Australia to do. Be a good person, be super fit, and score lots of runs. It’s a great credit to him that he’s doing that.”Just as a senior Australian player there’s always high expectation on him but he’s embraced it, hasn’t he. He’s embraced it so well and he’s another great example of leadership without a title. He’s a senior player. He’s played the most Tests in the Australian team at the moment besides Nathan … and he hasn’t got a ‘c’ or ‘vc’ next to his name but he’s providing massive leadership to the group by everything he’s doing on and off the cricket field. He’s so calm, he’s got a good temperament, he’s leading by example in his preparation, he’s leading by example in his performance so that’s the leadership we are talking about.”Justin Langer has a discussion with left-handers in the Australia line-up•Getty Images

A significant moment in the match involved both Khawaja and Langer, as they shared advice to the team’s other left-handers in the middle on the third night, little more than an hour after Australia had lost 10 for 60 in the first innings. Langer explained this “left-handers convention” as a moment of instruction but also bonding among what he called a different breed. The effects were seen in particular for the debutant Travis Head, who went from a nervy duck in the first innings to a critical 72 alongside Khawaja in the second.”I’m a batting tragic. I love it. I’ve got a batting coach Hicky (Graeme Hick), he’s a great bloke but every now and then I just like to get my hands dirty. I love talking about batting and especially left-handers,” Langer said. “We’re a different breed, left-handers, we’ve got to get our eyes that way… but anyway… but just recognise you’ve got to have a game plan. In these conditions, one of the things about batting as a left-hander is there’s always rough there and you’ve got to deal with rough whether it’s a left-arm spinner or a leggie or even an offspinner trying to tempt us to drive. So you’ve got to have a game plan.”One thing all the great players will tell you playing anywhere, you’ve got to have a game plan. So we just talked about what our game plans can be. Recognise that the rough is going to play a part in the game and then work out how you’re going to play it. Travis Head’s innings in the second innings was brilliant. The way he’s developing, I think he’s got a great future in Australian cricket. The way he’s used his feet back and forth, the way he overcame getting a duck in the first innings and then getting 70-odd.”That takes a lot of courage what he did and to also play his game. He’s a very aggressive player. He’s also improving his defence so they’re the sort of things we talk about. And then to have Uzzie out there and Shaun Marsh who has played a lot of cricket. Just a nice batters, left-handers convention. The bowlers have got their cartel or whatever they call themselves, Damien Fleming and all these clowns. The backmen in footy call themselves the bulls, and we were just having a little left-handers convention, that’s all we were doing…”Naturally, too, Langer spoke of the difference this result would make to the way the Australian team was received back home, having delivered a salvage operation that meant they were, for the first time in 2018, the subject of conversation that was enthusiastic rather than derisory.”Whether we win or lose we’ve got to keep making Australians proud of how we go about our business. I’ve said it since day one and I really mean it,” he said. “I hope to think our behaviour out on the field was outstanding throughout this game. The spirit between Australia and Pakistan was outstanding throughout the game. The way we kept fighting was outstanding throughout the game and then to hold on like we did.”Aussies love a battler and Aussies love an underdog so hopefully we’ve put some smiles, we’ve got lots of fans back home hopefully put some smiles on their faces because that’s really important for Australian cricket right now that we do that. There’s been so much talk about how we play in the sub-continent which is fair enough and also our batting collapses.”I knew we’d had great preparation and I knew there’s a brilliant spirit in the team. It’s really calm in there at the moment so to see that. It was really deflating for everyone actually. When we had that collapse literally it was so deflating because the things I believe in in great teams, the preparation and camaraderie it was all there and then we have a performance like that and we all start questioning where we’re at. Then to see the way the boys put that preparation into practice throughout the game but particularly that second innings is a great credit to all of them.”

Josh Sullivan take 4 for 11 in rain-reduced encounter at Chesterfield

ECB Reporters Network08-Aug-2021Yorkshire 109 for 2 (Fraine 69*) beat Derbyshire 108 for 6 (Sullivan 4-11) by eight wicketsWill Fraine scored the fastest List A fifty in Yorkshire’s history to take his side to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Derbyshire in a Royal London Cup match reduced to 10 overs a side at Chesterfield.Fraine smashed 50 off only 19 balls and his unbeaten 69, which contained five fours and four sixes, from 32 deliveries took Yorkshire to their target of 109 with eight balls to spare.Derbyshire had set a challenging total of 108 for 6 after rain delayed the start by six hours with Fynn Hudson-Prentice hammering four sixes in an unbeaten 38 from 17 balls.Josh Sullivan took 4 for 11, including three in four balls, with his leg spin before Fraine’s assault carried Yorkshire home at a canter and keeps alive their chances of making the knock-out stages.Mitch Wagstaff and Harry Came got Derbyshire off to a good start when the rain finally cleared, adding 40 before Wagstaff was bowled trying to ramp George Hill in the fifth over.Tom Wood drove Hill for consecutive fours but then became Sullivan’s first victim when he pulled the leg-spinner’s first ball to deep midwicket.Brooke Guest was stumped coming down the pitch and Alex Hughes clipped his first ball to square leg as Derbyshire slipped to 50 for 4.Hudson-Prentice pulled Mathews Pillans for six and Came repeated the treatment as 21 came off the seventh over.Sullivan was driven over the long on fence by Hudson-Prentice but Came’s attempt to dispatch the spinner into the crowd ended in a sliced catch to cover.Derbyshire needed another big over and Hudson-Prentice delivered when he straight-drove and pulled Ben Coad for sixes with 17 coming from the 9th.It lifted Derbyshire to a competitive total but Fraine got Yorkshire off to a flyer, driving Hudson-Prentice for successive fours before lifting him over long off for six.Matthew Revis miscued a pull at Ravi Rampaul to mid on but Fraine drove Mattie McKiernan for another six to take his side to 43 for 1 after three overs.McKiernan bore the brunt of Fraine’s onslaught, conceding 21 from his second over, as the opener drove him onto the pavilion roof before his fourth six took him to a 19-ball 50.William Luxton pulled George Scrimshaw for six and although he holed out to deep midwicket in the same over, Yorkshire needed only eight off the last two overs.Gary Ballance removed any lingering hopes Derbyshire might have entertained of pulling off a dramatic heist by driving Hudson-Prentice for six as Yorkshire cruised to victory in the evening sunshine.

Kieron Pollard’s 46 not out off 26 balls lifted Mumbai Indians to a respectable total before Joseph produced one of the great IPL bowling performances

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Apr-20191:02

I play to win, not for the limelight – Alzarri Joseph

First IPL match ever, 22-years-old Alzarri Joseph steamed in, bowled the tournament’s top run-scorer David Warner – off an inside edge – with his first delivery, and went on to have a debut beyond all fantasies.In defence of Mumbai Indians’ 136 for 7, which had only been made respectable by Kieron Pollard’s 46 not out off 26 balls, Joseph produced one of the great IPL bowling performances. He claimed 6 for 12, consistently rushing batsmen with his deceptive pace. Those figures broke an IPL record that had stood since the very first season, bettering Sohail Tanvir’s 6 for 14.

Joseph’s stunning IPL debut

• Alzarri Joseph’s 6 for 12 are the best bowling figures in the IPL. The previous best was Sohail Tanvir’s 6 for 14 in the inaugural edition in 2008. The previous best on IPL debut was Andrew Tye’s 5 for 17, in 2017.

• Sunrisers Hyderabad were dismissed for 96, which is their lowest total. Their previous lowest was 113, also against Mumbai Indians, in 2015

• The 40-run defeat was the first loss for Mohammad Nabi in eight IPL matches.

• Joseph also became the seventh bowler to take a wicket off the first ball of his debut IPL game, joining a list that includes Wilkin Mota, TP Sudhindra, Ali Murtuza, Amit Singh, Ishant Sharma and Dwaraka Ravi Teja

• Joseph became only the second bowler to deliver a wicket-maiden in his first IPL over. Pat Cummins was the only other bowler to achieve this feat.

Despite being posed with a modest target, even if it was on a tricky home pitch, Sunrisers never got themselves moving. They lost their in-form openers inside the first five overs, and although several batsmen got starts, no one could push beyond 20. Joseph and Mumbai continued to take wickets, and the required rate ballooned. When Rashid Khan fell towards the end of the 15th over, with 49 to get off 25 balls and only three wickets left, the match was effectively sealed.2:05

Failed to capitalise on our good start – Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Joseph’s star turnHad Lasith Malinga been available, there is every chance Joseph would still be awaiting his IPL debut, but boy how he grabbed the opportunity. Joseph claimed two wickets off his first two overs, bowling David Warner off his inside edge with his first ever IPL ball, before having Vijay Shankar caught at point off a top edge soon after the Powerplay ended.His two wickets off successive deliveries in the 16th over, definitively swung the game in Mumbai’s direction. He bowled Deepak Hooda with a full, straight delivery, which the batsman inside-edged onto his stumps. Next ball, Rashid Khan was rushed into a pull shot, which the batsman could do no better than top edge – Joseph himself running through to take a simple chance.The final two wickets were almost just a bonus. Bhuvneshwar Kumar had his middle stump pegged back by another full, straight one. Four balls later, No. 10 batsman Siddarth Kaul was caught behind trying to run Joseph to third man.That Kaul wicket concluded the second excellent away result for Mumbai, who in the last two seasons had been infamously slow starters in the IPL. With this victory to follow the one against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday, Mumbai have announced they are once again serious title contenders.Pollard’s manic finishFor so much of Mumbai’s own innings, it seemed as if they would not muster a competitive score. They had been a pathetic 5 for 65 after 12.5 overs – four of their top five batsmen having failed to score at a run-a-ball. Pollard, though, eased himself into his innings, hitting 9 off his first 13 balls, thanks to some good fortune (more on that later), before exploding in the 19th and 20th overs.He walloped the first ball of Siddarth Kaul’s final over over long off, before blasting one into the legside stand two balls later, then muscling another into the stand beyond long on two balls after that. Mumbai made 20 off that Kaul over, then 19 off the final one bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, thanks again to some serious luck for Pollard.Alzarri Joseph wheels away in celebration after completing a five-for•BCCI

Sunrisers’ horror dropsVery rarely does Rashid Khan let a catch slip through his fingers, but he did so today, and wouldn’t you know it, it was Mumbai’s eventual top scorer that he reprieved. Pollard should have been out for 8 off 13 balls had Rashid held a straightforward chance at deep extra cover. He would go on to pummel 37 off 13 balls after the drop.According to ESPNcricinfo’s , the drop cost Sunrisers Hyderabad 21 runs, which very much looks like the difference between the two teams.To make things worse, Mohammad Nabi also dropped Pollard off the penultimate ball of the innings – palming the ball over the boundary to give him six, before Deepak Hooda at long off failed to stop a ball that deflected off his body for four.Mumbai’s support actsAlthough Joseph was easily the visitors’ best bowler, the attack actually put in an excellent performance between them. Jason Behrendorrf claimed 1 for 28 from his four overs, Jasprit Bumrah took 1 for 16 from his three, and Rahul Chahar had struck the first blow, removing Johnny Bairstow in the fourth over of the innings. Chahar finished with figures of 2 for 21, later removing Yousuf Pathan as well.